Are you a Prisoner?

Disclaimer: It's that time again to get controversial. I am a Christian.  When I speak of the Holy Book it will be the Bible. I hope you can read this piece making reference to the Holy Book found in your religion. I hope we all have a life manual that guides our life.

I have grown up knowing I was created in God's own likeness. The Bible also tells me I was created in God's own image. I therefore have ability to create unlike other living things. That is how in my geography class I was taught of manmade resources. 

Man after creation was told by God to be fruitful, multiple and fill the earth. While many have focused on procreation, I am of a different school of thought. My school of thought was man was to fill up the earth through creating things on earth. True to God's declaration, man has created things that are both of benefit and/or harm to himself and/or other living creatures. The common denominator here being God blessed man with the ability to create.  I want to imagine each religion receives God's way of doing things from their Holy Book.  The word is read and practiced by individuals of that faith freely.  God gave us His word on how to live and doesn't interfere. We live by the choices we make. While the Bible tells Christians not to steal, many Christians steal. That is how we end up having Christians in jail over stealing.  Choices come with consequences. Each action comes with a reaction. Which can sometimes be death.

Back to the creation story. God created everything and said it was good. Man later came forward and set standards of what is good and what is bad. These standards will vary from place to place. That is how while abortion is illegal in Kenya, it is legal elsewhere.  I feel we humans forget God has guidelines and standards of what is good and bad. All which are found in the Holy Book for each faith. That is why perhaps we are made to know that vengeance and judgment belongs to God. We are a people that gauge good and bad based on selfish interests. While the Bible talks of being faithful in marriage, we talk of encouraging affairs to take care of the disadvantaged population. God condemns adultery stop justifying it. God condemns stealing, stop justifying it. God commands us to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Some of us don’t even know what self-love is therefore can’t offer love to another person. The Bible talks of a wife being submissive but women will tie the submission to certain conditions and men will condition loving a wife. Do we skew the word of God for our own selfish interests?

Let's talk of the secular things. A love song will play and I will sing along and get funny stares. Those that are bold will ask, why are you singing that song and its secular? Are you not the one that talks to people about God? The answer has always been isn't God love? Who is it that gifts us all? Which commandment is one breaking by singing secular songs? How do you suppose singing a secular song prevents me from having a personal relationship with God? Majority of the times none is able to answer. The answer I get has been, its wrong as a Christian to sing secular songs. This is what I have an issue with. Have we gotten so caught up with people telling us what is good and bad that we lost our identity? As a person of this and that religious belief, do you deeply follow your Holy book? Are you following your understanding of God's word or another persons? Are you reading your Holy Book as a story book or to receive God's word over your life?

The Bible clearly tells Christians that if your right hand is causing you to sin, cut it off. Many have taken this literally but it has a deeper meaning. My understanding is if something leads you to sin, then don’t do it. Coming back to self love, we can only know what is bad and have courage to avoid it when we know ourselves. How about we do things with a deep personal understanding of God and self not people’s standards and /or understanding. How about we truly practice self-love and God’s word to us? How about we each do a personal analysis of who we are? Try it sometime. The liberation that comes with it is beyond human understanding. Allow yourself to be led by God's word not fellow human beings. Release yourself from that prison you have locked yourself in for so long.

Picture this, I am a Christian, I sing a religious song and I am stealing, killing , hating my neighbor and abusing my wife. Does that bring me close to God? How does that spread God's word? While singing a love song may lead one to sin it could lead one to express love to their partner. Please do you!